New Prince Andrew outrage as it emerges he’s not paid rent on Royal Lodge for 22 years | Royal | News
It has been revealed that Prince Andrew only pays “pepper-hot” rent for the 30-bed royal mansion. The King’s 65-year-old brother has come under fire recently over damaging new allegations made against him in connection with his previous links to late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
While Andrew has consistently denied any accusations and wrongdoing, he has bowed to public pressure to renounce his royal titles, including becoming Duke of York. However, some of the public and even members of parliament are not happy with this situation. This led to requests for the lease of Andrew’s Royal Lodge house – a large Crown Estate property – to be made public.
Times He said he had now seen Andrew’s lease for the Royal Lodge, where he lived with his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson for more than two decades.
While he was initially believed to have been paying monthly rent for the property, terms of the lease indicate that he has only had to pay “a peppercorn” of rent per year since 2003, if requested.
The outlet notes that the lease also shows how the prince initially paid £1 million for the rent, and at least £7.5 million for renovations that were completed in 2005.
It is believed Andrew will only have to pay “notional rent” if he cannot keep up with the property renovations.
The initial £8.5 million the prince paid when signing the lease equated to £113,000 a year; This would be less than the market “notional rent” for a 30-bed mansion.
The outlet also noted that an agreement in the lease showed that the Crown Estate, which manages Crown properties, would have to pay Andrew around £558,000 if he had to move out.
Andrew will be given a “compensatory sum” of £185,865 a year until he reaches the 25th year of the deal in 2028. The lease currently means the family can live in the property until 2078.
The push to access the lease documents comes just days after Andrew on Friday renounced the use of royal titles and honors following ongoing allegations against him – which he denies. He released a statement in which he acknowledged how his previous friendship with Epstein and the subsequent accusations had detracted from the work of the Royal Family.
